John Feinstein on why soccer is not a real sport

Here I was, laboring under the misapprehension that the U.S. women’s quarterfinal World Cup win last weekend was the best sporting event I’ve watched this summer, unless you count LeBron James losing again as part of the summer.

But it turns out I was wrong. Because the thrilling and dramatic match, filled with controversy and agony and an insane last-second equalizer, wasn’t actually a sporting event, according to noted sportswriter John Feinstein, who writes a lot about people walking around with sticks.

This is what happens above, when Ivan Carter attempts to talk to Feinstein and Mike Wise about the best sporting event of the weekend on Washington Post Live.

Feinstein: I was watching CC Sabathia.

Carter: Ok, great, that’s awesome.

Wise: Really?

Feinstein: Yeah, because it’s a real sport.

Wise: Stop.

Carter: Are you serious? Stop. Don’t.

Feinstein: I’ve said this before.

Wise: That’s chauvinist.

Feinstein: No, I feel the same way about men’s soccer. You cannot call something....

Carter: Oh, stop.

Feinstein: Can I finish my sentence?

Carter: No.

Feinstein: You can’t call something a real sport if you don’t decide it by playing the sport. If you ended Stanley Cup....

Carter: So it’s just penalty kicks?

Feinstein: Yes.

Carter: Nooooo.

Then Feinstein insulted Wise for not knowing the rules of soccer, and then Carter insulted Feinstein for wearing white pants, and then Feinstein insulted Carter for wearing a pocket square. Oh, and there was more talk about soccer not being a real sport.

Comments our editors find particularly useful or relevant are displayed in Top Comments, as are comments by users with these badges: . Replies to those posts appear here, as well as posts by staff writers.

To pause and restart automatic updates, click "Live" or "Paused". If paused, you'll be notified of the number of additional comments that have come in.

Comments our editors find particularly useful or relevant are displayed in Top Comments, as are comments by users with these badges: . Replies to those posts appear here, as well as posts by staff writers.